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Episode 1396: Stars and Chubs
Date June 29, 2019 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Twitter commotion caused by the Pioneer League’s Grand Junction Rockies (who are definitely not named the Humpback Chubs), an Angels outfield sign and Mike Trout, the curious rise and fall of Yonder Alonso, the promotion of Rays rookie (and two-way player) Brendan McKay, the upcoming FanGraphs All-Star Game event, the All-Star starters and how All-Stars should be selected, and J.D. Martinez’s comments about writers wanting to work in front offices. Then (40:33) they talk to FiveThirtyEight’s Nathaniel Rakich about his sabermetric analysis of the Congressional Baseball Game, why the Dems have dominated recent games, the two-way talents of Rep. Cedric Richmond, and why the game has resisted the polarization of politics. Lastly (1:06:21), they bring on NPR’s Linda Holmes to discuss her debut novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over, her love of baseball and fascination with the yips, whether a character with the yips is based on Brandon McCarthy, how the book has been received, her writing process and approach to dialogue, and more. Topics * Sabermetric analysis of the Congressional Baseball Game * Style of play in the game * Avoiding political polarization of the game * Democratic winning streak * Cedric Richmond as a two-way star * Congressional representative aging curves * Gender parity in the game * Roster construction and substitutions * Linda's new novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over * Developing the plot for the book * Inspiration for Dean and the yips * Linda's writing process * Choosing a baseball team to root for * Writing evergreen dialogue and cultural references * Challenges of writing a book Intro Greg Brown, "Grand Junction" Interstitials Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording), "Take a Break" Warm Thoughts, "Romance Novelist" Outro 10cc, "The Dean and I" Banter * Meg and Ben discuss the recent tweets by the Grand Junction Rockies twitter denying that they would change their name to the Humpback Chubs. A fan (Ian Lummis) had started a petition to change the team name in recognition of a local fish, the humpback chub. * The Angels moved an advertisement sign that was in center field, shifting it to the right. The Angels front office had believed that the optics of the sign might have been responsible for a reverse split that right handed batters had against left handed pitchers. * Brendan McKay, a two way player, was called up by the Rays. * Reviewing Yonder Alonso's offensive rise and recent regression * FanGraphs event at the All-Star Game * All-Star selection process and importance of being selected as an All-Star * J.D. Martinez's comments about award voting and writer motivations Notes * Meg and Ben both get great enjoyment (and laughter) at saying 'chubs' over and over. * Nearly 60% of WAR leaders at their positions were selected as All-Star starters. * The first congressional baseball game was in 1909. * Cedric Richmond has accrued 2.5 WAR (1.8 as a pitcher) in these games. Richmond played baseball at Morehouse College. * Linda said that the personality for the baseball player in her book was original inspired by Chris Kluwe and Brandon McCarthy. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1396: Stars and Chubs * The Grand Junction Chubs by Craig Goldstein * Grand Junction Humpback Chubs Petition * Interview with Ian Lummis about the Humpback Chubs * Angels try to improve their performance against lefties...by moving a sign by Jeff Fletcher * The Rays Needed to Call Up Top Prospect Brendan McKay by Craig Edwards * Yonder Alonso Is the New Poster Boy for the Fly Ball Revolution by Dave Cameron * FanGraphs All Star Event * The All-Star Starters By WAR by Devan Fink * J.D. Martinez sounds off on All-Star, MVP Award voting by Chris Mason * We Calculated Advanced Stats For The Congressional Baseball Game by Nathaniel Rakich * Congressional Baseball Game statistics Category:Episodes Category:Guest Episodes